Second homes: Young people living in tents and caravans

Young people priced out of the housing market by second homes and holiday lets claim they are being forced to live in tents and caravans.

A consultation has been launched on changing planning laws in Wales following concerns.

Housing officer Rachel Lewis, 25, has been living in a caravan for a year because it was "impossible" to find anything affordable to rent in her hometown of Solva, Pembrokeshire.

"If I can't do it, who can?" she said.

After graduating from university in 2019, Rachel volunteered abroad when the pandemic hit. She returned home to Solva to be near family and friends.

But she said she and her partner could not find anything affordable to rent, let alone buy.

"It was impossible. My partner and I stayed in a holiday rental for about two months, then briefly rented a flat in Haverfordwest, then they put the rent up by £100 a month so we moved out of there and then into the caravan," she said.

She admitted it has not been easy, particularly working from home because of Covid restrictions.

"I've been in the caravan for 12 months and I'm paying £400 a month, with bills on top.

"It's been cold. I work from home most of the time so that's been really difficult.

"Our pipes froze last winter, they burst and flooded the caravan and that took basically a month to dry out whilst we were living in it. It's been never-ending problems.

"There's not a lot of space, especially with the home working. It's not easy."

Some of their friends in the area have also been unlucky.

"One of my friends lives in a bell tent at the moment.

"There's a lot of hospitality staff in the area because of tourism, but they're on minimum wage so they're never going to find somewhere if we can't.

"It's so frustrating seeing so many young people who want to work and live in the area, support the community, support the economy down here and then just not be able to," she said.

Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn, 24, from Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd, is getting married next year and wants to buy a house, but said prices in the village were "crazy" because of second-home ownership.

He added: "I've got seven jobs, ranging from gardening to working in a pub.

"I want to save enough money to buy a house but because prices are so high and people from outside the community have more money, the houses that we could afford are being swooped off the market.

"The second home situation is frightening. It keeps me up at night thinking about the community just dying on its feet.

"Houses are up [for sale] one day and gone the next. There's no chance for young people like us to even go for it.

"It's not just the young. I've seen people in their 60s who wanted to sell their home and find something else, getting gazumped out of the market. It shows the depth of the emergency.

"The community will die if this carries on. There'll be no schools left in rural villages and the language will die. It's depressing that we've had the Senedd since 1999 and it's only now that things are really being done."

Niall Mills, from Tenby, said his family has been "essentially booted out" of their rental to make way for holiday lets.

"My family have always rented, always lived in council housing. It's the end of the road for us," he said.

"We've lived here 27 years and have essentially been booted out. My sister lives with my dad full-time in an Airbnb. That ends in a couple of months.

"They're choosing to rent their properties as holiday-lets, instead of renting to a local family, from their own community, who desperately need a home."

Responding to calls for "radical action" on second homes, Education and Welsh Language Minister Jeremy Miles told Dros Frecwast the consultation announcement was proof of radical action.

He said some changes could be in place as early as next summer.

Mr Miles acknowledged "frustrations at seeing another consultation", adding this is "not a one-step fix to solve every issue".

For Rachel and her partner, both in full-time work, it has been "frustrating" to see so many empty homes outside the tourist season.

"My partner works with children in care, there's two of us with not bad full-time jobs. If we can't find anywhere, then I don't know how anyone else is going to manage," she said.

"These properties stay vacant for 90% of the year and they could be rented out to local people, even if it was just winter lets.

"There are so many opportunities there to help support the community."

Graham Roberts, from the seaside resort of Benllech on Anglesey, owns two holiday rental properties in the village.

He said there needs to be clarity during the consultation as to what kind of properties the Welsh government "is looking to control".

He said his holiday rentals are let out full-time and his situation is completely different to "people from afar buying homes and leaving them empty, or only using them now and again".

He agreed action is needed.

"The lack of jobs on the island - many industries have closed down here - means there aren't any opportunities for young, local people to be paid well enough to afford houses," he said.